Reddit. You’ve probably heard of it. The mega-site has a cult-like and ever-growing following, especially among twenty-somethings. If you aren’t familiar with it, reddit is a social news website where anybody can submit links to interesting stuff they find around the web. Users (called “redditors”) can also ask questions of the community or share experiences in simple text submissions. These submissions are organized into categories called subreddits. You can find subreddits (shown as “r/___”) for just about any topic. And I mean anything. As of this posting, there are over 205,000 subreddits.
After someone submits a link or publishes a post, the reddit community “up votes” or “down votes” it to determine its position on the subreddit where it’s categorized and the homepage — the more up votes a submission gets, the higher its position on the site. Since its founding in 2005, reddit has become one of the most trafficked websites on the internet and has garnered attention for its community-driven “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) interviews, as well as for its involvement in last year’s anti-SOPA campaign.
As for myself, I have a love/hate relationship with reddit.
I love reddit because it does send AoM quite a bit of traffic. Last year alone, nearly 1 million of our visits came from links submitted on the site. (Thank you to those who submitted AoM links! Much appreciated!)
I also love reddit because you can find so much interesting stuff there. Ask Me Anything interviews are amazing. My favorites in the series are Nick Offerman, Ken Jennings, and Dale Murphy. Check them out when you get the chance.
But, I hate reddit because it can be a terrible time-sink if you’re not careful. That’s what happened to me. A few years ago, I was a reddit fiend. I’d check the front page every 30 minutes to get the latest news and Scumbag Steve meme. Alarmed by the amount of time I was wasting on reddit, I took drastic measures by modifying my computer’s host files so that I could no longer access reddit.com. For nearly a year, I didn’t visit reddit at all.
That changed last October when Kate and I visited the fine gents at Huckberry. Somehow reddit came up during my conversation with its founders, Richard and Andy. I mentioned that I hadn’t visited the site in over a year because I was wasting so much time on it. Andy said I was missing out on some good stuff, especially in subreddits like r/history. The trick, he said, was to be deliberate about how you used reddit. Don’t just mindlessly surf. Have a purpose and stick to it.
After my conversation with Andy, I slowly began browsing my one-time nemesis again. Only this time I was more intentional about it. Instead of mindlessly surfing the homepage, I now only check a few subreddits that have the purpose of helping me achieve my goals. I’ve blocked reddit.com, but have whitelisted the subreddits that I actually want to read. Result? I no longer waste time and I’ve discovered some great content to help improve my life. Boom!
Below I highlight 25 subreddits that I think can help you become a better man. Some of them are subreddits that I regularly read myself, while some of them are just ones I thought might be helpful for a young man trying to improve himself in various aspects of his life.
Dress & Grooming
r/malefashionadvice – If you’re looking for advice and feedback on how to dress better r/malefashionadvice is your subreddit. These folks are really passionate about style and happy to help other men who want to dress better. We’ve had several of our style articles featured on r/malefashionadvice. You’ll likely see stuff from Antonio’s website, Real Men Real Style, there too. Users typically post pictures asking for feedback on their different outfits. If that’s not your thing, at least check out the links in the sidebar to their various guides on style basics. Great stuff.
r/wicked_edge – Subreddit dedicated to classic wet shaving. You’ll find reviews of shaving products and tips on how to get a better shave. If you have questions about wet shaving, feel free to ask away.
r/beards – A subreddit for bearded men and the women who love them. Post pics of your beard progress and get advice on how to take care of your manly face sweater. Also, throw your hat into the ring for their bimonthly beard contest. Winners receive a free bottle of Bluebeards Original Beard Wash.
Money & Career
r/personalfinance – Get your personal finance house in order with the help of this community. Trying to figure how to pay down your student debt? New to IRAs? Inherited some money and don’t know what to do with it? Post your questions to the 52,000 friendly subscribers at r/personalfinance to get some insight on what you should do.
r/frugal – Great collection of user-submitted tips and links on how to be more frugal and economical with your resources. I wish I knew about this place when I was in college and law school. Highly recommended for folks trying to rein in their spending and pay down their debt.
r/jobs – Looking for advice on how to improve your resume or job interview skills? Look no further than r/jobs.
r/entrepreneur – Go-to subreddit for the man starting his side hustle and has dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. You’ll find inspiring links about other successful entrepreneurs and great discussions on the problems facing small business owners.
Health & Fitness
r/fitness – Find motivation and advice on how to get in shape in r/fitness. Most people use this subreddit to ask questions. Users are friendly and encouraging.
r/paleo – If you’re a fan of the paleo diet, you’ll find lots of recipes here. You’ll also find links to paleo related news and blog posts.
Personal Development & Improvement
r/GetDisciplined – A subreddit for folks who want to be more disciplined so they can achieve their goals. Most of the submissions are questions about becoming more disciplined. You’ll also find user-submitted success stories.
r/productivity – Lots of links to interesting articles on increasing your productivity. Just limit the time you spend here or else you’ll defeat the purpose of reading r/productivity!
r/psychology – Links to articles and studies on the latest advances and insights in psychology. Many of the articles have practical advice that you can use to improve your life today.
r/GetMotivated – You’ll find success stories and images designed to motivate the crap out of you. I’ll browse r/getmotivated when I’m feeling discouraged, and I typically find something that has just the message I needed to get me pumped up again.
r/socialskills – I know lots of AoM readers are looking to improve their social skills so they can have more success in their careers and their romantic lives. r/socialskills is a great place to look for advice, tips, and encouragement. Very friendly and encouraging folks there.
r/pornfree -This subreddit was inspired by a bunch of IamA Porn Addict AMA’ posts. The purpose of r/pornfree is to help people with porn addiction break their habit.
r/nofap – Similar to r/pornfree is r/nofap. For those of you who don’t know, “Fapping” is internet speak for masturbating. r/nofap is a support group for men (and women) who are wanting to abstain from masturbation for whatever reason. Some are trying to abstain because it’s become an addiction that’s gotten in the way of their life, while others are taking the nofap challenge simply as a test of their self-control and willpower.
Man Skills
r/malelifestyle – Collection of general men’s interest links from around the web.
r/everymanshouldknow – “You know that thing your dad was suppose to teach you but never did? This is where you may learn a ton of interesting things, that will help you everyday.” Awesome collection of man skills, from how to sharpen a knife to how to ask a woman on a date.
r/lifeprotips – This is one of my favorite subreddits. Crammed with easy to implement tips that can improve your life by leaps and bounds. r/lifeprotips is where I learned to fold a t-shirt like a pro in less than a second.
r/survival – Subreddit dedicated to discussion, articles, and videos on wilderness survival. Make sure to check out r/survival’s handy resource guides in the sidebar.
r/mechanicadvice – Experienced mechanics field questions on how to fix your car in this community. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to fix your own car, this is the subreddit to read.
r/homeimprovement – For men tired of having to call the handyman to fix stuff around the house. Ask your home improvement questions here.
For the Gentleman Scholar
r/history – Subreddit for the history buffs. I’m amazed by the cool, in-depth history articles users submit here. Make sure to browse through the links to other historical subreddits. A few of my favorites include r/propagandaposters, r/wwiipics, and r/thewaywewere.
r/philosophy – Great philosophical discussion in r/philosophy. Even if you just lurk and read the discussion, you’ll get something out of it.
r/todayilearned – Looking for cocktail conversation fodder? r/todayilearned is your place to go.
Do you use reddit? What are your favorite reddit subreddits? Share them with us in the comments!
